


Out of the Frying Pan

by Mahlerman



Series: Inferno [2]
Category: Big Bang (Band), EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-27
Updated: 2016-01-02
Packaged: 2018-02-10 14:58:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2029374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mahlerman/pseuds/Mahlerman
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After his release from prison, Senghyun is hired (coerced) by the government to coach the SME's newest black ops unit. During their first mission, he runs into an familiar face.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Tugging his hood over his head, Choi Seunghyun stepped out of prison into a torrent of rain. _Great omen for my first moments as a free man_ , Seunghyun thought, grimacing. Many a cold night in his cell, Seunghyun had pictured himself striding triumphantly into the sunset, away from the wire-barbed hellscape that was the SME State Penitentiary. Unfortunately the weather seemed to be actively defying his fantasy, as he staggered through a veritable waterfall.    

Cursing, Seunghyun struggled towards the bus stop down the road, hoping to find respite from the rain. By the time he made it, his clothes were soaked through, and his pants squelched uncomfortably as he sat down on the bench. Sheets of water cascaded around the roof of the bus stop, creating waves that slopped against Seunghyun's sneakers. When the twin headlights of the bus flickered through the downpour, Seunghyun could not have been more grateful.

However, the vehicle that pulled up in front of him was decidedly not public transit. Seunghyun felt unease creep into his belly when the black van slid towards him. When he saw the silver insignia stamped on the door, the blood froze in his veins. A black-tinted window rolled down, and the driver, smirking from behind his sunglasses, said, "Get in, Agent TOP."

Reluctantly, Seunghyun climbed into the passenger seat.

"I haven't even been free for a whole hour yet. You really can't just leave me in peace for _a single bloody hour_ ," Seunghyun groaned, wiping water from his eyes. He flicked it at the driver, who chuckled. "And I thought 'Agent TOP' was discontinued the moment I was put away."

"Yes, well, desperate times call for desperate measures," the driver said cheerfully, turning sharply down a dirt road.

TOP stared at him.

"You can't be serious."

The driver didn't reply.

"I _just_ got out of prison."

The driver led them into the dark mouth of a tunnel.

"Not even an _hour_."

The van pulled into an underground parking lot, lit by harsh fluorescent light.

"Hey, don't shoot the messenger," the driver said, stepping out of the van. He went to the other side and opened Seunghyun's door. Seunghyun stared at him dumbly.

"No."

"What do you mean, 'no'?"

"I'm not going back."

"Tough nuggets, Agent TOP."

The last thing Seunghyun remembered was the driver's hand shooting out and a sharp pain in the side of his neck.    

*****

Seunghyun woke to find himself on a plush leather sofa, a man in a pinstriped suit shining a flashlight in his eyes.

“Good, you’re up,” he said, looking pleased.

Seunghyun recognized the man. He immediately shut his eyes again.

“Oh, don’t be like that. I have a mission for you,” the suit said, patting Seunghyun’s head patronizingly. Seunghyun groaned.

“You can’t do that. I’m a civilian now. There’s a whole section in my parole contract about how I have to stay docile and normal when I’m roaming loose among the masses.”

“You mean this parole contract?”

Seunghyun looked up to see the suit holding a thick packet to a steel cigarette lighter. Large black print at the top read, ‘PAROLE CONTRACT: CHOI SEUNGHYUN.’ The words curled into ashes on the shiny hardwood floor. Seunghyun sat up and rubbed his eyes wearily. “What in God’s name could you possibly want from me, Mr. Lee Soo Man?”

“You won’t be roaming loose in the masses, darling. There’s a new unit that we’re training, but there’ve been some…difficulties,” Lee Soo Man responded, handing Seunghyun a tablet.

“This has nothing to do with me,” Seunghyun said, handing it back. Lee Soo Man shot Seunghyun a shark-like grin.

“It does if you ever want to see the light of day again.”

Seunghyun knew Lee Soo Man. He had worked for the man for nine long years, and knew that he never made empty threats.

“This is coercion,” he grumbled ineffectually, turning on the tablet. “I just got my rights back and they’re already being violated.” A file containing pictures of various boys popped up. Seunghyun flicked through the photos, eyebrows raising steadily as he got further in.

“Well, your issue is pretty obvious. If there are twelve goddamn kids lumped together unit it’s no wonder you’re having problems. Twelve people are a battalion, not an ops unit. Five people are an ops unit, six tops. Put that many people together on a recon mission and they’ll just trip over each other, and don’t even get me started on the division of work. The kids are probably just bored. Split it up into two groups and train them separately and boom, all your worries will go away. Now let me go.”

The corners of Lee Soo Man’s eyes tightened. “Do you really think we hadn’t thought of that already? EXO is split into two groups, M and K. _Boredom_ is not the problem. Read the attachment for the last agent, if you would be so kind.”

Seunghyun looked at the last kid. He glared out of the picture, probably trying to be menacing, but failing abysmally. _Codename: KRIS_ , read the description, _Status: Defected (YG)_. A tight band seemed to constrict around Seunghyun’s ribcage. He swallowed and looked up.

“Kris was the leader of EXO-M. He was quite popular, not to mention respected among his peers. We’re hoping, given your…experience with this matter, that you can prevent more members from following in his footsteps.”

Seunghyun rubbed at a phantom ache in his leg absently. _EXO’s a stupid name_ , he thought. He voiced this opinion, just to experience the childish glee of getting the vein in Lee Soo Man’s temple throb. There was once a competition to see who could get it the most prominent, between him, Daesung, and Seungr-no, he was _not_ going to go down that particular memory lane.

"Why are asking me to do this? You’re the bastard that put me behind bars in the first place."

“Oh believe me,” Lee Soo Man said, smiling coldly, “If it were up to me, you would still be rotting away in solitary confinement. But don’t play dumb, it’s unbecoming of you. You know _exactly_ why you were called in for this job. Unfortunately, the higher-ups are willing to stoop to consorting with criminals-” “ _Ex-_ criminal, actually” “-to stop this trend from spreading through the rest of the group. Due to your experience with that complete fiasco ten years ago, they picked you as the best candidate. Welcome back to the fold, _Agent TOP._ "

Seunghyun ran a hand over his face wearily _. Out of the frying pan and into the fire._

 

 


	2. Chance Encounters

Eleven boys stared at Seunghyun. Seunghyun stared back at them. Seunghyun took a bite of his jelly donut. Eleven pairs of eyes followed his movements, glinting with famished intent.

“Here, I have a box of twelve donuts,” Seunghyun said between bites. “Right now there are eleven left.” He chewed thoughtfully, and then gestured vaguely around at the obstacle course the group was sitting in. “You’re objective for today is to get a donut. I’ll give them to you once you’ve finished the course. Meanwhile, I will continue to eat, so if you don’t go fast enough…” Seunghyun finished off the donut. He reached in the box and took a second one. Confectioner’s sugar puffed into the air as his teeth sank into the doughy pastry. “Chop, chop, kiddos.”

***

Eleven boys stared at Seunghyun. Seunghyun stared back at them. Seunghyun took a bite of his chocolate glazed donut. Eleven pairs of eyes tracked the descent of the last donut down Seunghyun’s throat.

“How the hell do you eat twelve donuts in ten minutes?” whined a short boy with sweaty bangs sticking to his forehead.

"Well, Baekhyun,” Seunghyun said, licking his fingertips, “the question should be, why didn’t you complete the course in under ten minutes? Better yet, if you really wanted the donuts, why didn’t you just attack me and take them?” Seunghyun looked around pointedly. “There are eleven of you and one of me. Your bodies are all in top condition from intensive daily training regimens for the past four years, while I was languishing in a prison cell for the past ten.”

Baekhyun and his compatriots blinked.

"But you’re our new instructor. We have to listen to you or else we’ll get punished,” another short boy said indignantly. _They’re all so short and irritated_ , Seunghyun thought idly.

“Your objective was to get the donuts. I said I’d give them to you freely if you finished the course first. Just because I wouldn’t have given them to you on my own accord doesn’t mean that you couldn’t take them.”

Seunghyun’s gaze suddenly sharpened, and he jumped to his feet.

“When completing your objective, take the shortest, easiest route possible. In any mission you receive, time will be your greatest enemy. However, that’s under the assumption that you’re competent enough to not worry about losing against an attack, which-” Seunghyun cleared his throat, then spun violently, foot hooking under the knees of three of the teens. They collapsed on top of each other with surprised squeaks. “-apparently you are not.”

Seunghyun heard footsteps behind him, then felt spindly fingers wrap around his throat. He dropped to his knees and pitched forward, and his attacker flipped on his back with a dull thump.

“Nice try, Luhan,” Seunghyun chuckled, “but if you continue to thunder around like an elephant your enemy will laugh at you. Just like I am.”

Luhan pouted at Seunghyun. The rest of the group pounced.

-

The members of EXO lay on the ground, panting in sharp gasps and sweating profusely. Standing in the middle, of the heap of prostrate bodies was Seunghyun.

“Not bad, kiddos,” he quipped. “Luhan and D.O., you’re attacks are well-planned but the execution’s an absolute mess. Xiumin and Chen, my dead grandmother moves faster than you. Chanyeol, Sehun, your punches are weaker than most girls I’ve encountered. Baekhyun and Tao, scratching the enemy only works if you don’t have a deathly fear of hangnails. Lay, Kai, Suho, your footwork is atrocious. Overall, your teamwork sucks and your stamina is alarmingly low.”

Seunghyun received a chorus of noncommittal grunts. He sighed. Insubordinate brats.

"Now, who wants a donut?”

***

_One year later_

Seunghyun lay on the floor, letting the coolness of the concrete seep into his sweaty back. His arms and legs were pinned, and Chen sat on his chest, arm pressed into his throat. Kai bent over him, glaring icily into Seunghyun’s eyes.

“Do you surrender?” Kai asked.

Seunghyun wheezed an affirmative.

The Chen-shaped weight on his chest lifted as the group of boys erupted into raucous cheers.

“FINALLYYYYY!!!!!!!” screamed Chanyeol, sprinting a victory lap around the training room. Luhan and Xiumin clung to each other, sobbing hysterically. Sehun, Baekhyun, and Tao bounced around the room, shrieking, “WE BEAT T.O.P! WE BEAT T.O.P!” Seunghyun once again found himself pinned to the ground as the rest of the boys piled on top of him for a massive group hug. He grinned proudly and lifted a hand to ruffle the hair on one of the heads buried in his chest.

“Congratulations, boys,” he called over the sounds of celebration. “Dinner’s on me tonight.”

           

 _Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea,_ Seunghyun thought as he surveyed the eleven boys crowded around his apartment’s small kitchen table, ravenously devouring a display of grilled meat, fried rice, and ramen.

“Budge up, kiddos,” he said, squeezing between Kai and D.O, setting the last platter of sautéed spinach on the table.

“You’re the best, T.O.P,” Chanyeol spluttered around a mouthful of food.

"Well, duh,” Seunghyun replied, earning several appreciative snorts.

Several minutes passed in silence, save for the clatter of chopsticks and enthusiastic chewing. Conversation slowly started up, and the table dissolved into chatter.

Seunghyun leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, letting the strands banter wash over him. A soft, fuzzy feeling of fondness bubbled in his stomach, and he said, “You guys are like the sons I never wanted.”

“Gee, thanks,” Kai said sarcastically, lightly kicking Seunghyun’s ankle.

Seunghyun smirked and ruffled his hair. A pointed look passed between Luhan and D.O.

“What is it?” he asked, leaning back and fixing the pair with a stare.            

The table fell silent, and Luhan hesitantly said, “I-well, we were wondering what you were like-um, well not exactly what you were _like_ because you probably haven’t changed that much-”

“Stop babbling and spit it out,” Seunghyun said.

“Why were you imprisoned? How do you know so much about strategy and fighting? What was your family like before?” Suho supplied.

EXO watched warily as Seunghyun’s face smoothed into an impassive mask. “I used to be an agent in SM,” he said flatly. “My team was my family. I was arrested because I failed a mission.”

“But you aren’t listed in any of the records of retired agents,” Baekhyun piped up.

 _Who would want to remember a traitor?_ Seunghyun thought bitterly.

“Use your brain, Baekhyun. I was arrested and dishonorably discharged. Not _retired_.”

Seunghyun stood up. He grabbed the empty dishes and brought them to the sink. EXO sat silently at the table, staring at their teacher’s retreating back. When Seunghyun returned, Chen asked haltingly, “Which unit were you assigned to?”

Seunghyun’s knuckles whitened.

“The word just came in from up top. Your first operation will be in two days. Get some rest.”

He shepherded the group through the threshold. Just before the door closed, Lay, the last one out, thought he heard a murmured, “Big Bang.”

***

“Are you _sure,_ Lay? There isn’t any record of a Big Bang ever existing in SME.”

“I’m not deaf, Suho! He definitely said that.”

“Well, he did say he was imprisoned because the mission he was on failed. What if Big Bang was just cut out of the records because of that?”

"There are plenty of groups that fail missions, Tao, and they don’t get blotted out of history; SHINee, f(x), we all know about them, but why haven’t we ever heard of Big Bang? Something’s not right.”

“Yeah, and T.O.P was acting really weird about it. Something really bad must have happened.”

“Kai, T.O.P always acts weird.”

"I know, Chanyeol, but he was being weirder than usual.”

“What if he killed his members on a mission? And that’s why he got thrown in jail.”

“Luhan! Don’t _say_ that!”

“What? It’s a possibility.”

“Still doesn’t explain the missing records though.”

“Guys, you heard T.O.P earlier. We have an actual mission soon. Just go to sleep for now, and I’m sure we’ll be able to badger it out of him eventually.”

***

Seunghyun sat in the back of a camouflaged truck, checking the connection of a flesh colored tracking device adhered to the back of his neck. He bent his knees, testing the flexibility of his skintight body armor. Around him, eleven black-clad operatives did the same.

“Listen up, time for debrief,” he called. “Recently there was some movement detected along the YG border. The assignment is to go in and do a scope of the area. This is recon _only_ , so any potential enemy tries to engage, your priority is to get the hell out as fast as possible. K will cover the eastern half and M the west.”

“You’re coming with us?” Xiumin asked, voice crackling through the speaker nestled in Seunghyun’s left ear.

“Just for this mission, since it’s your first. It’s relatively easy, but if something happens I’ll be able to get you out.”

They jerked forward as the truck they were in slammed to a halt.

“We’re two miles from the border. Maintain radio silence unless you get attacked. Reconvene here in two hours. Good luck.”

***

Two hours was an incredibly short time for a mission, even a simple, straightforward reconnaissance based on speculation and ordered as a precaution. The chances of anything going wrong were so infinitesimally small, that Seunghyun almost suspected foul play when he heard Suho’s voice screech in his earpiece, “Attack, 5.7 miles northeast of Border Post 68! Three aggressors and counting!”

“Retreat!” Seunghyun hissed, breaking into a sprint, “M, return to reconvention point immediately. K, try to avoid entanglement and return to reconvention point. I’m on my way.”

“They’re pressing us further north into YG territory, T.O.P,” Kai’s voice hissed through the earpiece.          

“How many?” Seunghyun asked, sliding down a moss-lined ravine.

“Four,” came D.O’s voice.

A tendril of unease crept into Seunghyun’s belly. He emerged from the ravine and saw them, EXO-K scrambling away from the advancement of what Seunghyun assumed were four masked YG agents.

“Idiots,” Seunghyun hissed, ducking behind a tree, “Don’t run around bunched together like an easy target. Spread out and try to double back. I’ll provide a distraction.”

On his word, the six split off in different direction. Simultaneously, Seunghyun hefted a rock and threw it at the largest YG agent. It struck him on the back of the neck, and he fell to the ground, unconscious. Before the others noticed their fallen compatriot, Seunghyun leapt and tackled another to the ground. He felt something whiz over his head and looked down to see a tranquilizer gun aimed at his neck. Several seconds of tussling passed, ending when Seunghyun wrestled the gun out of his grip and shot the man in the exposed neck between his mask and his uniform. His struggling weakened and Seunghyun sprang to his feet to pursue the others.

He almost tripped over the fallen body of the third agent, left in the wake of a retreating Sehun. A warm bubble of pride lodged in Seunghyun’s chest as he turned around in search of the remaining agent.

“Status report, K,” he ordered.

“At reconvention point with M,” said Kai.

"With Kai,” said D.O.

“One mile from the border,” said Sehun.

"Half mile from the border, carrying Chanyeol,” said Baekhyun, “He got shot.”

There was a moment of silence.

“Suho, status report.”

The channel filled with static.

Seunghyun cursed internally. He scanned the ground, trying to parse out from the mess of twigs and leaf litter which way they could have gone, before the speaker in his ear crackled to life.

“I found Suho with one of the aggressors. Suho appears to be unconscious.”

Seunghyun cursed externally.

“Damnit, Luhan, I told you to go and stay at the reconvention point. What the hell do you think you’re doing looking for Suho alone?”

"He’s not alone, I’m with him. Our location is .7 miles northeast of Border Post 68,” came Xiumin’s voice.

Continuing to swear profusely, Seunghyun turned sharply and threaded his way through a copse of evergreens. He emerged on the other side just in time to see Luhan sink to the ground sluggishly. Suho’s body was strewn haphazardly a few meters away.

“Xiumin, take Suho and get back to the reconvention point. I’ll bring Luhan when I’ve eliminated the threat,” Seunghyun commanded, firing two rounds of the tranquilizer gun into the last agent’s back. They bounced off his body armor, as Seunghyun had expected, but it directed the agent’s attention away from the escaping Xiumin.

Seunghyun sized up his opponent as he dodged a tranquilizer dart. He was small and thin, and extremely fast. The snap of the wrist as the gun whipped toward him around was eerily familiar. He tried to quell the nauseous tide whirling in his stomach as he charged, tackling the YG agent to the ground. He jammed the gun into the man’s neck and pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened.

 _Well, that’s unfortunate_ , Seunghyun thought as he jerked the dartless gun back and slammed the butt into his opponent’s mask. It cracked on impact, and Seunghyun detected muffled cursing. The nausea rose up his throat as the man discarded the shattered mask, revealing a mop of curls, thin lips curled in a snarl, and dark, glittering eyes.

Air rushed out of Seunghyun’s lungs as a bony knee sank into his diaphragm. Gloved hands scrabbled on the back of his neck until they found purchase on the tracking device glued to his skin, and then ripped it off. Seunghyun felt like laughing hysterically at the irony that _he_ deigned to think of that detail. He was flipped onto his stomach, and assumed that the power source for the communications devices had also been crushed as he heard the line in his earpiece go dead.

The cold muzzle the gun pressed into his neck.

“Any last words?” breathed a honeyed tenor in his ear.

 _Oh the possibilities,_ Seunghyun thought, _the first words of a reunion after eleven years._ As his vision began to black out, he vaguely regretted that his choice was:

"That perm looks atrocious, Jiyong.”    

           

           


	3. Chapter 3

Seunghyun woke to a blank ceiling, a killer migraine, and an intense stabbing sensation in his side. _Must have been one hell of a party last night_ , he thought as he painstakingly attempted to sit up. A rattle jarred his newfound consciousness. He tugged on his left hand, causing a grating metal screech when the handcuff scraped against the bedpost. Wincing, Seunghyun scrubbed his face with his free hand, pinching the bridge of his nose in an attempt to mitigate the ringing in his skull.

Seunghyun flopped back onto his back, vaguely noting that YG had pulled no stops furnishing its prisons. The thread count was probably double that of his measly cot back in the SM barracks, and ahahaha he was pretty thoroughly fucked wasn’t he? Simple recon mission-turn-ambush could always be counted on to make his week. A pair of painfully familiar eyes and a truly revolting haircut were certainly highlights as well. 

A muted click brought Seunghyun out of his reverie. What looked like a metal cat flap swung open to reveal Luhan’s grinning face. 

“T.O.P-hyung,” he beamed, “you’re awake!”

“Unfortunately,” Seunghyun sighed, a pit forming in his stomach.

Luhan’s face disappeared from view momentarily, before the door opened. Luhan slipped through, carrying a tray of food. 

“I brought you dinner,” he said cheerfully.

“If dinner doesn’t contain some serious narcotics…” Seunghyun groaned, trailing off. His mental faculties weren’t sharp enough yet to finish the threat. Luhan put the tray on his lap. It contained a steak, a salad, a donut, and what looked like two pills of Tylenol. _Tylenol,_ Jesus Christ. However, he chose for the time being to ignore it.

“Really?” he asked, looking pointedly at the donut and raising an eyebrow at Luhan.

“Well, they _are_ your favorite and you _have_ just been kidnapped by a traitorous enemy spy,” Luhan replied. “Figured you could use a pick-me-up.”

Seunghyun didn’t lower his eyebrow.

“Traitorous enemy spy is me, in case you haven’t noticed.” Luhan delivered this line with an almost anxious gleam in his eyes. _Huh_ , Seunghyun thought, _guess the kid still has some modicum of respect for my opinion of him_. 

“Don’t insult my intelligence,” Seunghyun sighed. “That much was obvious. And if you really wanted to give me a pick-me-up, you wouldn’t have given me _Tylenol_.”

Luhan looked away and didn’t respond. 

“Why are you so calm about this?” he asked quietly. “Your training group was just jumped on the border, half of EXO has been captured, and you’re being held behind enemy lines. All thanks to me. Why aren’t you completely pissed off at me?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, you haven’t done it all on your own. You were in cahoots with YG the entire time, weren’t you? The original kid who defected, he must have put you in contact right?” Seunghyun prodded his memory to review the demise of their mission. “And Xiumin was involved as well, wasn’t he?”

Luhan looked surprised, then nodded jerkily. 

“Now I’m stuck in a cot, my head’s killing me, I’ve got, what are these, fucking stitches in my side? And I get. fucking. _Tylenol_. Then, you have the gall to walk in front of me, all high and mighty, mock my dietary proclivities, then rub it in my face that _you’ve succeeded at the one thing I’d have given anything to do you smug little bastard, who do you think you are_?” Seunghyun lost coherency proportionally to his mounting rage. “TEN YEARS IN PRISON YOU LITTLE BITCH AND NOW YOU JUST GET TO WALK AFTER A FEW MONTHS, DON’T FUCKING KID ME, YOU SLIMY LITTLE WORM!” 

He hurled his tray at Luhan’s head. Unfortunately, Luhan managed to dodge most of it, but the two offending Tylenols did manage to bounce satisfyingly off his forehead. Luhan was saying something, but Seunghyun couldn’t hear past the rushing in his ears. He lunged at Luhan, clipping his shoulder with a foot, but landed on the floor in a heap, hand straining against its metal cuff.

“Your delayed-reaction temper is as truly a sight to behold, my friend,” a voice said from the doorway. 

“I’M NOT YOUR FRIEND,” screamed Seunghyun as the owner of that voice stepped into sight. There was a yellowing bruise on his cheek. “YOU LOST ANY PRIVILEGE TO CALL ME YOUR FRIEND OVER A DECADE AGO, YOU FILTHY, LYING, TRAITOR!” Seunghyun wished his voice would stop cracking so he could sound more imposing. Distantly, he wondered why he was reacting so badly. He had eleven years to get over it, why was he wigging out now? 

“Luhan, get out,” the man snapped as he crossed the room. Seunghyun felt his breaths come faster and faster. His arms started to tingle with excess oxygen.

“Get away from me,” he said quietly, looking away from the man. “I don’t have anything to say to you, Kwon Jiyong.”

“Wouldn’t have been able to guess with your passionate screaming thirty seconds ago,” Jiyong said, seating himself on the floor. “Don’t cry, Seunghyunnie. I’m sorry.”

Was he crying? A quick wipe to the face came away wet. 

“You’re a bastard.” Seunghyun grabbed Jiyong’s neck, below that stupid, bouncy mop of poodle hair and pulled him into a hug. He heard a click and felt the metal ring fall away from his wrist. He wrapped his freed arm around Jiyong’s back.

“If you tell me you’ve gotten married or some shit in the past ten years,” he muttered, “I actually will kill you.” 

“Not a chance,” Jiyong laughed, gently running his fingers through Seunghyun’s hair. “I told you I’d come back, didn’t I?”

“Yes, very _prompt_ about it, too,” Seunghyun huffed, his breaths coming out slower, more regulated. 

Jiyong winced. 

“I tried, Seunghyunnie, I really did,” he said softly. “Prison heist was a bit beyond our capabilities, so we decided to wait it out.”

Seunghyun almost laughed. 

“So you’re saying this entire set-up with the double-crossing and training was entirely meant to get at me? Don’t be ridiculous Ji, that’s a bit overboard.”

“Well, I had to word it a bit differently in my proposal, to get the mission through. Had a lot more stuff about gathering SM intel and converting inside players, but my endgame was still to get you over. And we did it, Seunghyun. I always keep my promises.” 

“Yeah.” Seunghyun looked at Jiyong, eyes softening slightly. “You sure did.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> might do a prequel to explain how everyone got there bc this story was probably confusing af  
> as an aside, this is the first chaptered fic I've ever finished (in the loosest sense of the term)


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